Not your typical caliber debate

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9mm - with modern ammo it will get the job done
.40s&w - capacity like a 9mm hits like a .45
.45 acp - the gold standard. I carry a .45 because they don't make a .46

I got all that. I have .45s, .40s, and 9 mm. The .45 will never go away. I learned on a .45 so I'm keeping it.

So, using arguments other than which caliber is a better defensive round or which round is more of a he man round.... why should i send the 9 mm packing and keep the 40s or why should I keep the 9 and sell the .40?

Main reason I'm asking is I want to simplify a little and focus on two calibers instead of 3.

I'd keep all 3 calibers simply to stay diversified, never can tell what the future will bring. There may be a time when you'll be able to score on 9mm ammo that's better than what's available in the other 2 calibers.

It's always nice to have a BUG on your person, vehicle or home and a third for you significant other.

I'd keep all 3 calibers simply to stay diversified, never can tell what the future will bring. There may be a time when you'll be able to score on 9mm ammo that's better than what's available in the other 2 calibers.

It's always nice to have a BUG on your person, vehicle or home and a third for you significant other.

Just my $.02, YMMV.

Bob

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I've had all 3 for a while now, just not sure I want to keep it that way. I was thinking having 2 calibers in semi auto to go with my .357/.38 and my .44 mag revolvers would be good enough for diversification.

I dumped .40sw to stay 9mm and .45acp. I do not have need for an intermediate caliber and the .40sw recoil is too snappy with no up-side IMO. I'll take the cheapest, (9mm), highest capacity (9mm), least recoil (9mm), most prevalant (9mm) or heaviest caliber (.45acp), not the one that compromises in all areas (.40).

None taken, but I don't see it that way. Typical caliber debates usually hang on which is a better round. My stance is that they all have their ups and downs and with today's ammo choices, you can't go wrong with any caliber.

I'm talking about things like capacity, cost, and any other reason people chose one over the other. I hear people say all the time that 9mm ammo is cheaper. Not by much around here. Point boing, if the cost is the same, why pick one over the other when they both will take out a perp with plenty of effect.

I dumped .40sw to stay 9mm and .45acp. I do not have need for an intermediate caliber and the .40sw recoil is too snappy with no up-side IMO. I'll take the cheapest, (9mm), highest capacity (9mm), least recoil (9mm), most prevalant (9mm) or heaviest caliber (.45acp), not the one that compromises in all areas (.40).

If you're keeping the .45, then you don't need something that hits like a .45, right?

And if you keep the 9mm, then you don't need something with the capacity of the 9mm, right?

9mm is cheaper to shoot than .40 is.

This all said, I carry a .40 S&W, and really enjoy the cartridge. I prefer it to either the .45, or the 9mm. However, if I was going to keep .45 and one other cartridge in semi-auto form, it would likely be a 9mm.

But for me, I'll stick with the .40 since I don't want to carry two handguns to do the same thing as one.

As said before Keep all three,you never know what the future holds. I would suggest to carry and train with one weapon, Buy 200 to 500 rounds of the calibers you wont shoot. store the guns and ammo away, practice with what you decide for an EDC weapon.

You didn't say what platform, that would be my decision, regardless of caliber. You can always reload, all three are pretty popular. I've never really understood the simplify thing, but if you want to get down to just one round to do it all, you have to go bigger IMO. Bigger gives you more options. Bigger works better when you don't have a good JHP.

If you are keeping the .45 then sell the .40. You want enough difference between them so that each caliber could perform a specific role. 9mm is cheaper than .40 or .45, more practice. 9mm has larger capacity and lower recoil. The main point is why keep two things that are almost the same when you can have two things that are still similar but far enough apart that one could be more useful than another for a specific purpose.

I'll take the cheapest, (9mm), highest capacity (9mm), least recoil (9mm), most prevalant (9mm) or heaviest caliber (.45acp), not the one that compromises in all areas (.40).

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Fallacious logic. You can't say the .40 is compromised "in all areas" by comparing it to both the 9 AND the 45. If bullet weight is a factor then the 40 beats the 9. If capacity is a factor than the 40 beats the 45. Get it?

None of those factors are absolute. Otherwise you'd have to pick only the 9 or only the 45. Each one has it's own compromises.

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